


Dear Santa, Help me find a date.

by Candi_Demon



Category: Super Junior
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Christmas Tree, Cute, Fluff, Fluffy Ending, Fluffyfest, M/M, suju - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:08:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21976360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Candi_Demon/pseuds/Candi_Demon
Summary: Hyukjae writes a silly letter to Santa asking for a date to his company's Christmas party. He didn't think his jerk friends would find it and make fun of him for it. Nor did he think they would actually put it in the Santa mail drop.Nor did he expect to wake up a few days later to a man in his apartment. A man who calls himself Donghae the Elf.
Relationships: Lee Donghae/Lee Hyukjae | Eunhyuk
Comments: 1
Kudos: 45





	Dear Santa, Help me find a date.

**Author's Note:**

> "You're a what now? An elf?" Hyukjae questioned.
> 
> "I'm an elf. Stop asking me that. I told you already, like five times. It's not gonna change the more times you ask it," Donghae, the elf, said from his perch atop the kitchen counter. The elves fingers stacking giant marshmallows in a pattern that Hyukjae couldn't discern. 
> 
> "I just... S-stop touching all the marshmallows!" 
> 
> Donghae pouted at him, pausing in his movements for about two seconds before he stuck his hand in the marshmallow bag and pulled one out. He held it up to Hyukjae to inspect before it was hitting him in the forehead.
> 
> "Don't yell at me! Santa sent me here to help you!"
> 
> \- - - - - - 
> 
> Christmas Eunhae Fluff you didn't know you needed. 

A sharp rap to the edge of Hyukjae’s wooden desk jolted him from his post lunchtime daze. He looked up from his laptop screen, where he had been staring for almost twenty minutes to a tall figure standing over his desk. The figure was Park Jungsu, the COO of Kim Corp and Hyukjae’s boss, who was dressed in a blue pressed suit that probably cost more than what Hyukjae made in a month. He leaned back in his chair, ready to listen to whatever nonsense he needed to do this afternoon. Being a personal assistant wasn’t the most glamorous job, nor the most fun. It was long hours, excessive running around, and no time to himself. 

"Hyukjae, are you listening?" Jungsu sharp tone shook him out of his wandering thoughts.

“Of course, Jungsu-ssi,” Hyukjae replied, respectively.

The elder’s eyebrows creased at him in annoyance, Hyukjae watched in confusion as Jungsu rolled up the folder he had in his hands. Once it was rolled, Jungsu smacked him on the head, hard. 

“What the hell did I tell you about calling me hyung! You little shit, I’m not that much older than you, and I thought we were friends.” Jungsu hollered as he hit him a few more times, puffing out his cheeks as he did. Hyukjae rubbed the side of his head; it hurt a lot more than he would have thought. Jungsu must be hiding muscles under his suit.

He glanced up at the male and frowned, Jungsu’s arms were crossed, staring at him.

“You said to call you Leeteuk-hyung,” Hyukjae finally said after a few seconds of staring at the elder. Hoping he would go away and stop embarrassing him in front of the other assistants. It was bad enough that the COO wanted you to call him hyung, the man was always leaning on Hyukjae’s desk and pestering him when he should be in meetings.

“Yup, so why are you calling me Jungsu-ssi?” Leeteuk asked with a raised brow. 

Hyukjae pouted. "You're my boss Leeteuk. Isn't there some kind of protocol or something that says to address you with honorifics?" 

No sooner had he finished his sentence when Leeteuk started hitting him again. A smack between each word, he tried to defend himself against the onslaught of hits, there was no use. "I.. said… to… call… me… hyung! You… little... shit…" 

Hyukjae groaned, loudly. He heard a snicker from a desk across from his and frowned. "If you’re not going to help, Kyuhyun, don't laugh at my pain!" That only caused the other assistant to laugh louder. Hyukjae grabbed a random pen from his cup holder and tossed it in Kyuhyun's general direction. He missed.

“Anyways, Hyukkie, did you get my email about the Boss' Christmas dinner?" Leeteuk asked as he straightened out the folder he was holding. Hyukjae had gotten it, and he promptly deleted it. There was no way he wanted to go to a party at his Boss' multimillion-dollar house. He would just embarrass himself.

"Yeah, I got it. Why?" Hyukjae rubbed the spot where Leeteuk hit him. 

"Because if you had read the entire email instead of the first two sentences, you would have seen that I already accepted the invitation, and you're my plus one."

"What?!" Hyukjae exclaimed. 

"Also, because that's against company policy or whatever you need to bring a date, so people do not think I am dating my assistant." 

Hyukjae could only stare. What the hell? Maybe he should start reading all of Leeteuk's emails instead of skimming them like he has been for months. 

"Why me?" Hyukjae question in disbelief, but his question was ignored as Leeteuk stood and stretched his arms above his head.

"The party is on Christmas Eve; it's black tie. Use my card and tailor to get a proper suit and tie. Not one of your on-sale ones." The older male was flipping a hand to signal Hyukjae's crinkly suit, which was, in fact, on sale when he bought it. It didn't fit him the way Leeteuks or Kyuhyun's did, loose in the hips and too tight at his shoulders, but it was okay. He thought he looked decent in them. 

He frowned harder. 

"Seriously, Hyukjae. Go find a date, get a nice suit, bring them to the dinner party. It'll be fun. Oh, and fax this paperwork over to Choi's assistant, that little stinker thinks he can keep one of the Boss' assistants busy with nonsense, he has another thing coming. The number is in the first paper." 

With those parting words, Leeteuk left. Hyukjae huffed as he let his body fall to lay on his desk, scattering papers, pens, and paperclips everywhere. He heard that dang snicker once again. Kyuhyun was so no help right now. He had to find a date, and get a suit, and get it tailored. He didn’t need his friend making fun of him. What he needed was a raise. Maybe if he did this, Leeteuk would get him a raise. Yeah, right, he's been asking for one since July. It wasn't going to happen any time soon. 

Begrudgingly, Hyukjae got up to fax the paperwork to Choi Siwon. He scanned through it as he sent it and had to hold back a snicker. It was all thinly veiled threats to Simon's manhood if he didn't stop bothering Kibum, the CEO's other assistant. Hyukjae knew that Siwon had a massive crush on Kibum and was going about getting the younger male to date him all wrong. Hyukjae was close with Kibum, and the other has been fuming about all the work the Choi CEO made him go through. He had given up trying to convince Kibum to make an official complaint. Secretly, he thinks that Kibum has a crush on Siwon too, and liked the special treatment.

Hyukjae spent the rest of the day pushing paperwork and running around at Leeteuk's will. That night, he called his best friends over and hoped the men wouldn’t make fun of him when he explained the situation. The seriousness of the situation didn’t stop Sungmin or Shindong from laughing their heads off at him. What did they know anyway, he pushed them both out the door. Claiming he was tired and wanted to sleep. 

The next morning was Friday, and Hyukjae was super excited for it to be Friday because Leeteuk always left at lunchtime on Fridays, and that meant he could go too. He ate lunch with Kyuhyun at a local cafe, the other still making fun of him for his terrible taste in suits and getting beaten up by Leeteuk, again. It wasn't the first time and doubted it would be last time Leeteuk would have to pester him about using hyung. Hyukjae just wanted to keep work and home life separate. Not that he had much of a home life. 

After waving goodbye to Kyuhyun, he took the bus home, having not wanting to drive to work this morning. Why waste gas when he was only there half a day? His apartment was in a pretty nice neighborhood, his building only four stories high instead of the ten he had moved out of. There was also a live person manning the front entrance desk, and they would wave cheerily at him every day. It was one of the simplest interactions he had, the other always smiling no matter the day. 

"Hey, Hyukjae-ssi!" The receptionist called out as Hyukjae was walking past to get to the elevators. He looked over his shoulder at the happy virus. 

"Hello, Onew, what's up?" 

"Nothing just wanted to be the first to tell you Merry Christmas!" Onew said with the most brilliant smile. Hyukjae couldn't handle the smile. It was too powerful. It was also December; first, the dude was waaaaay too happy on December first. 

"Merry Christmas. Onew." He waved a hand goodbye as the other laughed and went back to playing on his phone. Hyukjae rode the elevator silence, having bribed the elevator company worker to 'fix' the awful music that was usually playing in it.  
Hyukjae liked the silence. 

Hyukjae punched the code into the digital lock on his apartment door and walked inside the cold apartment. He forgot to reset his thermostat again. The male shocked his jacket and shoes, placing both in their rightful homes, neatly next to his other polished and organized shoes. His things might not be expensive like Leeteuks or Kyuhyun's, but he took good care of them. Making sure they always shined, pressed, and clean. Part of that was because he liked things to be clean and organized. Also, because he was allergic to dust, so things needed to be cleaned. 

He spent a few hours cleaning his apartment, vacuuming the entire house, and then wiping and dusting from top to bottom. His apartment was decent sized for a one room, one bath, it was sparsely decorated because he honestly never spent more time in caring about what the house looked like. His few friends didn't care of home decor, and he honestly didn't care either. For dinner, he ate a ridiculous amount of pizza and beer, spending the night watching TV on his couch. He cleaned up around ten and went to bed, trying his hardest not to let the silence bother him.

It did.

Around one am, he woke up and made his way to his closet. In the back was a dinged-up old wooden box that his mother had given him a hundred years ago, inside were a handful of letters Hyukjae had been writing since he was a child. He set the box on the coffee table and sat beside it, staring at the closed box for a while. He sighed and finally gave in. Hyukjae opened the box and took out a blank page and pen, starting to write without thinking. Hyukjae had been writing letters to Santa since he was a child. His mother used to collect them and 'mail' them. 

When he stopped believing in Santa, she gave him this box and told him to keep writing letters, even if he didn't believe it. It was therapeutic, she had said. He wasn't sure why he kept doing it, but he did. He was almost thirty, and he was still writing letters to Santa. What a joke. He signed the letter and shoved it into the envelope, dropping it on top of the others. Hyukjae closed the lid of the box and shoved it under the couch. He'd put the box away tomorrow. 

Saturday, he woke with a small headache and worry, turning his stomach. He only had a few weeks to find a date and knew no one he actually wanted to date. 

Hyukjae showered after he sent a group text out that asked his friends over for brunch, he'd cook. He had got a few affirmatives by the time he got out of the shower. He was setting the table when Kyuhyun and Ryeowook came bursting through his front door. The smaller giggling at something Kyuhyun said as they took off their shoes. They kept chatting about someone Ryeowook had to deal with in his salon the day before while Hyukjae brought food over, and champagne and orange juice for the mimosa lovers his friends were. 

As he was pouring orange juice into glasses, Sungmin and Shindong showed up in a flurry of chilly air and the fresh smell of baked treats. Shindong owned one of the best bakeries in Seoul. He always brought strawberry flavored treats for Hyukjae. 

Hyukjae shoved one in his mouth as he placed the box on the table then sat down. They ate and updated each other on what was going on with one another. Sungmin was informing them that his wife was nominated for some kind of award. Ryeowook and Kyuhyun just paid off their home loan; he cheered for them. Because really, home loans were expensive. It was why he was still renting an apartment. Shindong was thinking about opening a second location, closer to Itaewon. 

They ate, they talked. Kyuhyun got drunk. You know, the usual Saturday mornings. 

They were camped out on the couches while Hyukjae cleaned up when he heard a gasp before Sungmin called out. "Hyukjae, what's this box?" 

He heard three others say 'what box' as Hyukjae padded across the apartment. 

“What in the world is this? Dear Santa, Christmas the past few years… blah blah blah… I need to make a good impression, so please help me find a date for this Christmas party. Hyukjae, did you really write a letter to Santa?” Sungmin, in all his sassy glory, yelled across Hyukjae's living room. 

Hyukjae lunged across the couch at him, trying to grasp the box of hand-written letters in his hands. Hyukjae hadn't expected his friends to find his Santa box. He forgot he had shoved it far underneath the couch. Maybe not far enough for his nosy friends. Sungmin jumped up on the couch, tossing the box on the floor, letters scattering everywhere, and held the most recent high above his head. 

From behind him, he could hear his other so-called friends laughing as they picked up other letters from the floor to read them for themselves. Kyuhyun and Ryeowook were laying on the floor in front of his couch, laughing as they read through thirty years of Santa letters. 

"Guys! This isn't what I called you over for!" Hyukjae lunged for Sungmin again. The thin male jumped off the back of the couch and climbed up on his kitchen counter. "Get down, Sungmin!" 

"Why are you writing letters to Santa, Hyukjae?" Kyuhyun said from his crossed-legged position. 

"Because I promised my mom I would. She looks at them still. Come on, Sungmin. Give it back!" Hyukjae lunged again at the unexpecting Sungmin and grabbed the letter from him. He folded it back up carefully, placed it in the envelope, and pushed it into his jeans pocket. The others were staring at him. 

"Stop staring at me. You know how my mom is, do you think I could tell her no?" He bent to collect the other open letters and shoved them back into the box. 

"Your mom is scary about holidays. I don't blame you at all," Ryeowook said from his spot, helping Hyukjae fold and place the box on the table. Hyukjae changed the subject back to what they were really there for — finding him a date. No one had any good ideas, no, Kyu, Grindr is not a good date plan. 

Hyukjae isn’t sure how they convinced him to go shopping with them. They weren’t good friends, and he wasn’t buying them anything for Christmas. They were little shits, they all deserved coal. 

He huffed a breath as he crossed his arms and trailed after Ryeowook and Kyuhyun, the two chattering away secretly a few feet in front of him. They were mumbling something under their breath as they walked through the mall. He glanced around at all of the couples walking around with their cute little families. At the shops bosting Christmas sales and happy family portraits everywhere, trees and Christmas decorations covered almost every surface. Damn, why were people so happy all the time? 

He let out another sigh as he followed the two idiots through the mall. He was barely paying attention to where they were going until he bumped into Kyuhyun’s back because the male stopped walking. 

“What the hell, Kyu?”

“Hyuk, look! It’s Santa’s mailbox,” The younger male said while pointing at a huge box that was taller than Hyukjae. It was cherry apple red and covered in bright white lights. If Hyukjae were a child and believed in Santa, then this would almost appear magical. 

The three of them watched as two children came running up to the box, both of them holding envelopes in their hands. The two quickly figured out that they couldn’t reach the drop slot on their own. Without missing a beat, the taller boy dropped down to his hands and knees and told the other to climb up on his back. Hyukjae’s eyes widened as the other child stepped carefully up, held both letters in one hand, and the other onto the mailbox. When the smaller child was stable, he lifted the covered and pushed the envelopes through, then climbed down. The two stood straight and hugged before running back off to their mother, who was watching from close by. He heard Ryeowook coo from beside him. 

“That was so cute, Kyu! When we adopt, can we please adopt siblings?” Ryeowook said as he wrapped his arms around the taller’s shoulders. 

“Whatever you want, Wookie, whatever you want.” Was Kyuhyun’s reply with a kissing sound. 

Hyukjae rolled his eyes while he made a gagging noise. “Eww. stop being so gross.” He didn’t need to turn to look at them to know they were totally making out in the middle of the mall. He shouldn’t have introduced the two of them. 

Hyukjae moved to walk away when he felt a tug on the back of his jeans. What the hell? He looked over his shoulder to see Kyuhyun grinning at him with a wicked glint in his eye. In his hand was the red envelope that Hyukjae had barely rescued from Sungmin this morning. Hyukjae reached out to snatch it back and made a small helpless noise. 

“No, Kyuhyun. Don’t you dare!” He knew he was shouting, but Kyuhyun was being ridiculous, he held the letter high above his head. Freaking giant. With quick hands, Kyuhyun passed the letter to Ryeowook and while Kyuhyun held him back. Wook walked calmly over to the mailbox and dropped the letter in. 

The slender male dusted his hands and smirked at Hyukjae. What the hell. Hyukjae shoulders slumped. He liked keeping those, and never intended for them to be mailed or read by anyone but his mother. 

Hyukjae grumbled as he walked away. There was no use fighting it now. He would have to rewrite it so he could put it back in his stash of letters. 

As they shopped, Hyukjae gave into Leeteuk’s command to get a nice suit and had his two idiot friends help him pick one from the nicest store in the mall, and then they took the trip to a tailor. It took a while for the man to see Hyukjae, and when he did, Hyukjae wanted to get the heck out of there. The man had caressed his inner thighs one too many times for Hyukjae’s liking. He went home hungry, grumpy, and ready for bed. 

Sleep came fitfully for him that night. He kept dreaming about puppy eyes and boxy smiles. It was weird; he's never dreamed of them before, so why was suddenly dreaming about eyes he's never seen before. Hyukjae rolled over and tucked his hand under his chin, pulling the blankets tighter around himself. The room was super cold tonight. Did the AC go on the fritz again? He questioned himself as he rolled over again, shivering when the blankets slipped from around him, and a blast of cold air hit his leg. Hyukjae snuggled deeper into his blankets and let out a deep sigh. 

He must have fallen back asleep because his alarm blaring from beside his bed jolted him again. He groaned and blindly reached out a hand to slap the clock. Completely missing the clock and knocking over a bobblehead Groot toy that had been a gift from the CEO for his birthday. He let out a groan and reached further and finally hit the snooze button on the top of the machine. He pulled his arm back into his bundle of warmth, eyes still closed. Five more minutes sounded really great right about now. 

"Umm… are you going to get up? I've been here for hours, and I'm a little bored," a voice said. 

It wouldn't be the first time one of his friends barged in on the weekend to raid his fridge or pull him pull out bed for a trip somewhere. Hyukjae opened his eyes and frowned; he didn't recognize that voice though. He yanked the blanket off his head, his eyes meeting two large brown eyes, sharp nose and wicked lips curved into a smile. He was beautiful. On top of the beauties head was a mop of curly brown hair that was a complete mess underneath a… red and green Santa hat?

Maybe he was dreaming?

Hyukjae blinked his eyes. 

Nope. Dude was still there.

Hyukjae lifted a hand to rub his eyes; he was still asleep. He had to be.

He opened his eyes. 

Nope. Still there. 

"What the hell!" He screeched as he flung himself backward. His long limbs were going everywhere as he tried to scramble away from the random person in his apartment. The feeling of being weightless for a second was jarring; the smack to the floor was painful. He let out a groan from the tiny space between his bed and the wall. The male completely forgetting that he had moved his bed closer to the wall the last time he deep cleaned his apartment.

A fluffy head peeked from over the edge of his head. The same face he woke up to, but now the male’s brows were creased in concern. "Are you okay?" 

"No. I'm so not okay," Hyukjae answered with a scowl. He tried to wiggle out of his spot and only wedged himself further. 

"Do you need help?" 

"No. Why are you in my bed?" 

The male smiled at him, Hyukjae watched from his position as the male laid down flat and expended an arm in Hyukjae's direction. 

"I'm here to help you. Now take my hand and accept the help." 

Hyukjae huffed, not sure why he was doing it, but he took the hand hanging off the edge of the bed. With surprising ease, the male pulled Hyukjae up enough that he could wiggle his legs underneath himself and push up to crawl across the bed.  
Once he was standing beside him bed, he realized something strange. The male was wearing a red and green Santa hat, complete with bells, instead of a green shirt like how Hyukjae assumed he was wearing, he was draped in a tunic style shirt that went down to mid-thigh, ending in triangle-shaped cutouts. There were bells at the end of each cutout, and the tights! Oh my. Damn. The male was wearing red pants so tight they must have been painted on. His muscular legs ended in overly large green shoes that had a thick curve that ended with a bell. Hyukjae realized with a start; he was dressed like a Christmas elf. 

A goddamn elf.

"Why are you dressed like that?" Hyukjae couldn't help but question the other. 

"Cause I'm an elf. You snickerdoodle. This is how we all dress," The male said with a wave of his hand. Like what Hyukjae was questioning was stupid. 

"A what now?" Hyukjae's eyes jerked up from thick thighs to the others puppy dog eyes as they smiled happily at him. 

"An elf, Hyukjae. I'm an elf, sent here by Santa to help with your Christmas wish." 

"He... what... now?" Hyukjaes’ brain couldn't comprehend what the other was saying. 

"Hyukjae, my name is Donghae, the elf. Santa got your letter last night and was worried he wouldn't be able to fulfill your Christmas wish. So, he sent me to help you," Donghae said.

Donghae, the elf. Who appeared in his house without setting the alarms off. He turned and walked out of his room, walking down the hall and to the control panel for his home alarm system. He pushed a button to light up the screen, ‘system armed’ still flashed across the screen. If the system was still armed and hadn’t been tripped… He turned back around and walked back to his room, where Donghae was still standing, poking a Black Widow bobblehead on one of his many half-empty shelves.

"What just a minute, how the hell did you get into my house?" Hyukjae pointed a finger at Donghae.

The elf sighed as he rolled his eyes. "Magic, Hyukjae, Santa’s magic. Anywho, you should get dressed. We have lots to do today!" The elf clapped his hands happily and turned around to leave Hyukjae's room in a flurry of cold air and tingling bells. 

What is the world was going on? There was no way this was really happening; he was still dreaming. Wasn’t he? The sounds of the elf banging around his kitchen were very much real. Hyukjae pinched his forearm and hissed at the pain. Very much awake. Hyukjae stood there dumbfounded for at least another two minutes before he looked down and realized he was only wearing black boxers. 

Oh right. 

Get dressed. 

Then get coffee. 

Then deal with the ridiculously dressed man in his house. 

Hyukjae dressed in a daze, throwing on a pair of loose sweatpants and a t-shirt that was worn from wear. There was no way he could deal with what was happening in anything else but comfortable clothes, with clean teeth and caffeine. He went to his connecting bathroom and brushed his teeth. At least it was Sunday, and he didn’t have to go to work and deal with this person at the same time. 

The male rubbed a tired hand through his hair and left the sparsely decorated bathroom to pad across the house to find the elf. 

Ha. There was an elf in his house. No way. The man just broke in and is crazy, Hyukjae should really call the police. 

Instead, he headed to the kitchen where he could hear the other rummaging around in the cabinets. He was greeted with the sight of plates, bowls, and food... Everywhere. His fridge was closed, thank goodness, but there was something leaking from the bottom of it. There was some kind of white mixture spread all over the counters and butter smeared everywhere. Celery, carrots, and other veggies were lying around the counters. There was even flour on the ceiling tiles. 

'What… what happened in here?" He questioned as he stepped over a cracked egg on the floor to make his way to the coffee machine. He needed coffee. Now. 

"I was bored waiting for you to wake up. I wanted to make something to eat… but your kitchen is weird…" Donghae said from where he was standing on the counter, head in one of the top shelves that Hyukjae hadn't opened for a while. He heard the males faint 'eep' before leaning back to slam the door shut. Hyukjae made a mental note to clean in there later.

"My kitchen isn't weird. You're weird." Hyukjae frowned as he pulled the carafe from the heating pad to see some kind of pink liquid in it. What the hell? He sniffed it and frowned.

"Donghae, did you put strawberries in my coffee maker?" 

"What's a coffee maker? Oh deer, that thing, yeah. I was trying to make syrup, but your machine just watered them with hot water. It’s weird." Donghae responded from somewhere on the other side of the kitchen, from the thumps and sneeze he could hear, Hyukjae could only assume he was somewhere he wasn't supposed to be. Like... in the spice cabinet.

Too tired to deal with the information just told to him. He finished out the strawberries from the reusable coffee filter and cleaned the machine before refilling it with coffee grounds and fresh water. He smacked the ‘on’ button, a sigh of relief left him when it started to suck up water to drip properly. When he turned to grab the milk from the fridge, he bumped into the elf. Donghae was staring at the coffee pot with wide questioning eyes.  
"Want some?" 

"What's that black stuff?" Donghae answered instead.

"Coffee. I need some to deal with having an elf in my kitchen." 

“I've never had co-ff-ee." The other butchering the word coffee into three syllables instead of two. 

"You can try mine when it's finished," Hyukjae said.

Donghae beamed at him, too fucking bright, then turned to the fridge and yanked it open for him. Hyukjae sighed when he saw that his almond milk was what was leaking all over the refrigerator. Damn, he reached for the whole milk instead and fixed himself a large mug of coffee, then held it out for Donghae to try.   
He should have expected the male’s next reaction.

He really should have thought better of offering someone who has never had coffee a cup with no sugar in it. 

So when Donghae made a face, contouring in disgust before spitting it back into the cup. 

Hyukjae should have expected it. 

He didn’t. 

“Donghae, that’s gross!” 

Hyukjae scowled in annoyance as Donghae wiped his tongue on his sleeve. 

"Goodness gumdrops, that's disgusting! And hot!! Why would you give that to me! Are you trying to poison me?" Donghae accused. 

"You wanted to try it. Don't blame me." Hyukjae pouted as he took the cup back from the elf and dumped it out in the sink. He rinsed the mug out and made himself a new cup. After he set it down on the counter, he stepped around food and mixing bowls to a cabinet that doesn't seem to be disturbed. He opened it and pulled out a bag of marshmallows. He opened the bag and handed it to the elf. 

"Try these. It'll help get the taste out of your mouth." 

Donghae snatched the bag from him and pulled out one of the giant fluffs and licked it. Hyukjae relaxed when Donghae's eyes widened, and he shoved the entire thing in his mouth. He tried to say something around the mess in his mouth hut Hyukjae couldn't make it out. He just grabbed his cup of coffee and leaned against the counter. Trying really hard to ignore the mess in his kitchen. He fucking hated when his kitchen was messy. He faced Donghae as the mythical being hopped up on a clean section of counter, how had he found a clean space so easily? 

Donghae started pulling out marshmallows, Hyukjae took a long drink of his coffee. 

"Soo.." Hyukjae started, then stopped. He didn't even know where to begin with this insaneness of this man being an elf.   
He took another long drink of his coffee, still not sure where to start. The silence was killing him, though. 

"You're a what now? An elf?" Hyukjae questioned. 

"I'm an elf. Stop asking me that. I told you already, like five times. It's not gonna change the more times you ask it," Donghae, the elf, said from his perch atop the kitchen counter. The elves fingers stacking giant marshmallows in a pattern that Hyukjae couldn't discern. 

"I just... S-stop touching all the marshmallows!" Hyukjae hollered, he had a thing about people touching food in packages when he was going to eat them.

"Don't yell at me! Santa sent me here to help you!" Donghae pouted at him, pausing in his movements for about two seconds before he stuck his hand in the marshmallow bag to pull one out. He held it up to Hyukjae to inspect before it pinged him in the center of his forehead. 

"...what does that even mean," Hyukjae questioned as he rubbed his forehead. The sugary treat not hurting but the principle of the matter. The little shit shouldn’t throw food at him. 

"You sent a letter to Santa yesterday. Santa read it and was really… like really sad that you never send the letters you've written before. Santa decided your Christmas wish this year was going to come true. Santa tasked me with finding you a date for that party," Donghae said with no flourish, completely believing in what he was saying. 

Hyukjae huffed, crossing his arms and leaning against the fridge. What was he supposed to say to that? The elf went back to stacking the marshmallows; every fourth one went into the elf’s mouth. 

"Really, Donghae, you should stop eating so many; it'll make your stomach hurt if you eat too much." 

The other pouted but dropped the marshmallows back into the bag. Hyukjae took another long drink from his coffee mug. What was he going to do now? This man claimed to be an elf sent him by Santa Clause and wanted to help him find a date. Hyukjae didn’t really want a date for some Christmas party at his boss’ house. He wanted... His train of thought was cut off by another marshmallow hitting him in the face. 

"Stop thinking so much, Hyukkie, now when is that party?” Donghae questioned as he hopped off the counter and toed around the mess to walk out of the kitchen. Hyukjae took one last look at the destroyed room and shrugged a shoulder. It could wait until later. He grabbed his cup and turned to follow the elf to the living room. He'd need another cup of coffee before starting on that mess. 

“Christmas Eve, so a few weeks. Do not touch anything else Donghae; I don’t want to buy a new TV because you broke it. “ He didn’t have to see Donghae’s face to know he was pouting; the slumped shoulders said it all. 

"But.."

"No, buts, seriously." Hyuk interrupted.

"Now who are you… really? Did Kyuhyun and Sungmin send you?" Hyukjae plopped down onto one side of his couch. 

"Who are they? You know more elves?" Donghae asked from where he was inspecting the tv, without touching it. He pointed at it as he asked, "How does this work?" 

Hyuk sighed as he grabbed the controller from the table and hit the 'on' button. "No, Kyuhyun and Sungmin are not elves. They're some asshole friends." He heard a gasp as the TV flickered on. He flipped through the channels until a kids Christmas movie was playing. He didn't even bother turning the volume on. 

"So, Kyuhyun and Sungmin didn't send you. Did Leeteuk?" 

Donghae was staring at the screen as Little Cindy Lou Who started singing about where was Christmas. Slowly, Donghae sat in the middle of the living room, a few feet away from the screen. He was completely entranced by the movie. 

"Donghae…. Donghae?" Hyukjae tried calling the others name a few more times and got no response. He hit the volume button so the elf could hear the singing.

Hyukjae sighed. He was sighing a lot today. 

He drank the rest of his cup of coffee and got up to make himself another cup. He tried to get Donghae's attention a few more times during the movie to no success. He decided just to go clean up the effects of Donghae the hurricane. 

Hyukjae was washing the last bowl when Donghae walked into the kitchen with a little pout on his lips. 

"That was sad! Then happy, then sad. Why would you make me watch that!" Donghae pouted harder and started to cry. Oh fuck. Hyukjae turned the water off, grabbed a hand towel to dry his hands as he walked over to the other. He patted Donghae's head, not sure how to comfort him. 

"There, there… it's just a movie. None of it is real," Hyuk patted his head again. 

"Really?" Donghae rubbed his eyes. 

"Yeah, so stop crying," Hyukjae barely got the words out before he had an armful of elf. The male was wrapping his arms around Hyuk's torso. It was awkward and lasted way too long, and Hyukjae had to push Donghae away for him to let go. 

The rest of the night was spent with Hyukjae trying to get Donghae not to touch anything else, or make another mess. Hyuk ordered delivery, sushi for him, and ordering some black bean noodles for Donghae, thinking the taste wouldn't be something he'd spit out. He was wrong. Donghae spit the noodles onto the floor and used his chopsticks to scrap his tongue. 

What the fuck was wrong with him? 

And why was he putting up with it and not calling the cops?

After making him clean it up, Hyukjae made the elf a plain egg omelet with rice. He slathered it all in ketchup, the sweetness and tartness of the ketchup was something the elf didn't spit out. Hyukjae cleaned out the kitchen, showered, and put clothes out for Donghae for the other to shower. When he went to bed, Donghae was still watching Christmas movies, snuggled up in the blanket and pillow he had given him.

Getting up to go to work on Monday had been an adventure.

Donghae, in his oh so helpful glory, had unplugged Hyukjae’s alarm clock and decided that jumping on Hyukjae’s bed would be the best way to wake him up.

It wasn’t.

He pushed Donghae off the bed and rolled over to sleep some more. Donghae had then started singing Christmas songs at the top of his lungs. Hyukjae had to smack him with a pillow to stop. The giggling afterward was what finally woke Hyukjae up enough for him to crawl out of bed. 

He then had to remind Donghae that he had work, and no, he could not come. The pout that was aimed at him as he left the apartment had been a strong one, but Hyuk ignored it. When he came home, Donghae was sitting in a whirlwind of magazines and bombarded Hyukjae with questions about his taste in women and who he liked. Hyukjae made some noises like he was listening to Donghae talk about women. He had cooked dinner and cleaned up after Donghae, then he showered and went to sleep. Too tired from running around all over town for Leeteuk. 

Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty much the same as Monday. 

It was exhausting and worrying. When he would come home to the apartment, there would be some kind of a mess. Be it random Christmas decorations that Donghae made from paper, snowflakes, paper chains, gingerbread men and women, even tiny trees. Where the hell had Donghae found colored paper and so much tape? The snowflakes hung from the ceiling. Hyukjae did not like how messy his apartment was getting every day.

Maybe if he gave Donghae a phone and money, he wouldn't mar such a big mess? Maybe, maybe not. Who the fu k knew with a damn mythical being. 

He could only guess. 

On Thursday, he left the elf with his credit card and his emergency phone. He, of course, had to show Donghae how to call him if anything happened. He also showed Donghae how to text him in non-emergencies. Hyukjae still wasn’t sure why he was dealing with this delusional male. Nor why he didn’t expect a bunch of messages by lunchtime. He had been in a meeting with Leeteuk, and when he came back, Kyuhyun had commented about how his phone was going off like crazy but didn’t believe him. 

He should have. 

There were forty-seven messages. 

He should not have left the elf with the phone. The first few messages had been a bunch of gibberish as Donghae tried to figure out how to text. The next few where how amazing texting was. Then the questions about why his house wasn't decorated for Christmas, except the crafts he had done. 'Where ur 🎄?' Read one message. Oh fuck. He found the emojis. 

The last seven messages were just pictures. Donghae must have left the apartment. Hyukjae was so glad he showed the other how to lock the digital lock before leaving the apartment. The photos were of different Christmas decorations at one of the local shops. Some were super cute, some just gaudy. Hopefully, he wasn't the new owner of those. 

Hyukjae checked his credit card on the app and nearly pissed himself. 

Donghae has spent 150,043 ₩ in different shops.

In four hours. 

Hyukjae immediately called the trouble maker.

"Goodness gumdrops, the noise scared me." Was Donghae's hello. 

"What? Just… stop shopping, Donghae. What are you even buying?"

"Oh, How do you know I'm shopping? Did Santa tell you?" A noise that sounded like Donghae dropping the phone as he turned to look around came through the phone.

"Donghae, no Santa didn't tell me. I checked the credit card app. Please stop shopping and swiping the card. That was for food if you got hungry while I was gone." Hyukjae leaned back in his chair as he rubbed his forehead.

"But I did get food. I bought hot chocolate mix and more of those marshmallows and fruit and decorations for your apartment! It's so bare and empty. No wonder you write to Santa every year… oh, and lights for your balcony! Do you know yours is the only one of that entire side of the building that's not decorate….. Ouch. Oh, son of a nutcracker! That hurt.." 

Hyukjae jerked upright and held the phone tightly against his ear. "What hurts?" Not at all noticing the eyes on him. 

"Oh, um. Don't laugh, okay?" 

Hyukjae made a noncommittal noise. 

"I walked into a wall and hit my nose... stop! Don't laugh at me! I'm carrying lots of bags! If I had Santa's magic, this would have been so much easier! I could have just magic'd the place...!" 

Hyukjae burst out laughing; he couldn't help it. The damn elf was so clumsy. Hyukjae watched him walk into the bathroom door more times in the last two days then anyone he's ever seen. 

"Stop laughing, Hyukkie! My nose is redder than Rodulphs! It's not funny." 

Hyukja rubbed his forehead, and he tried to calm himself down. Not having laughed so hard in a long time. Not since he was a teenager. "I'm sorry, Donghae, but it is funny. Where are you?" 

Donghae huffed into the phone, "I'm in the elevator back to your apartment. The sweet Onew, do you know he auditioned to be a trainee at an entertainment company? Isn't that cool? Oh mistletoe, what was I saying? Anyway, he helped me carry some stuff up…" Hyukjae dropped an elbow on the desk in front of him, tucking his chin into his hand, as he listened to Donghae ramble on about Onew and everything he saw that morning. His eyes were roaming the paperwork in front of him. This went on for a few minutes until Hyukjae said goodbye and hung up. 

When he glanced up, Kyuhyun and Kibum were staring at him from their desk. he watched as Kyu turned to Kibum and mouthed, "Who's Donghae?" The other shrugged and pointed at his phone, Kyu picked his phone up and immediately Kibum's phone rang. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but they were seriously doing a lot of eye wagging with pointed looks at him. If they only knew the truth. 

One thing he quickly realized was that Donghae liked to talk. All. The. Time. Donghae spoke from the moment Hyukjae opened his eyes to the moment Hyukjae shut the door in his face at night. Donghae spoke about everything and anything that came to mind. He was never just silent. Not since the first day when he watched 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas.' Small things amazed him, from movies to different foods. 

It was as if he was born fully grown, and only a few days ago.

It was insane. 

When Friday came around, and Hyukjae went home at lunchtime as he usually did, he caught Donghae napping… in his bed. He didn't think the elf ever slept. 

The elf was curled up in the center of his bed, still wearing that awfully tight red pants and green smock. Hyukjae had convinced Donghae to stop wearing those horrible shoes, but he wouldn't give up that damn tunic. Hyukjae hated people sleeping in his bed, but Donghae looked so damn peaceful that he couldn't bring himself to wake him.

Instead, he threw a white throw blanket over the elf and went to the kitchen to make them lunch. 

That night, Hyukjae fell asleep on the couch watching movies with Donghae. The next week went about the same as the first. Wake up to singing, cook breakfast for them, leave for work, come home to a mess, clean up, and cook. Sprinkling in random phone calls or text from Donghae, the other still sending him pictures of women and decorations. 

When he woke Saturday morning two weeks after the elf appeared to Donghae's beautiful Christmas acapella being sung loudly... in his face, he threw a pillow at Donghae to shut him up.

It was too early in the morning for Christmas songs. 

"Hyukkie! Wake up!" Donghae said as he started jumping on the couch, feet on either side of his waist, his entire body shaking back with each jump. 

"Get up! Get up! Get up!" 

Jump. Jump. Jump. 

Shake. Shake. Shake. 

"Wake up! I found a place to get a Christmas tree! You don't have one! Let's get one! Come on!" 

Hyukjae had time to brush his teeth and run a hand through his hair before Donghae was pulling him out the door, barely managing to grab his hoodie. He had to shove his feet into sneakers, hop on one leg to tie them as they made their way to his little car. Donghae was hoping in place as Hyukjae unlocked the vehicle. He slid in and had to buckle the elf because he was too excited and was waving his arms around. Because the male was still babbling about the tree farm and lights, and winter and 'oh cookies, it was cold!'. 

He let Donghae fiddle with the radio until… guess what… Christmas music was blasting through the car. Donghae singing along to 'Jingle Bell Rock' and 'Santa Claus is coming to town.' When that song ended, Donghae turned to Hyukjae and quizzed him on his Santa knowledge.

Let's say that Donghae ended up lecturing him as he followed the navigation to the tree farm. 

When they arrived, Donghae was muttering about being cold, and Hyukjae pulled him into the little shop that was probably the gift shop for the tree farm. They usually sold a random assortment of things; maybe they had a clothing section. He found it in the back of the store; he had to pull Donghae away from a towering pile of stuffed animals when he discovered some of the animals were dressed like elves. It took a whole lot of bribing to get Donghae to even think about putting something on over his 'uniform'.

Once Donghae discovered that sweaters came in pink, he was all for it. 

Finding a mens cut pink sweater and jacket set had been a nightmare. 

Finding a pair of pants that Donghae would actually wear…. and getting Donghae to put it on, that was a damn war.

But Hyukjae ended up winning, reminding the elf that he couldn't complete his mission if he had frostbite. 

Once the elf was properly dressed, they started to wander around the farm. They walked down rows and rows of trees taller than them both. Past trees that were lit up and trees that were up to Hyukjae's knees. Donghae was chattering on about the pro and cons of each tree before moving on to the next one. In the middle of the tree farm was a little hot chocolate stand, and Hyukjae begrudgingly bought Donghae a large one with extra marshmallows and a massive coffee for himself. He needed it.

As they walked, he had to keep a close eye on Donghae because the elf would just disappear, and Hyukjae had a mini heart attack until he found him again. 

Donghae was just too innocent, and as much Hyukjae didn't want to deal with mythical beings, he didn't want Santa getting pissed because something happened to his elf. 

Fuck. 

Was he seriously believing that Santa was real now? 

He needed to get his head check. 

But after the last two weeks.

Yeah, pretty much. 

Hyukjae paused to look around, having lost Donghae, again. He tossed his empty cup into a nearby trash can and turned down the first row. He walked down the row until he heard Donghae singing. Of course, he was singing. Donghae was always singing. He followed the other's musical voice until he found the elf sitting by the saddest tree Hyukjae has ever seen. It was maybe four feet, missing limbs on the left side, and leaning slightly to the right.

Hyukjae tilted his head; if he looked at it sideways, it was ugly.

To sum it up, it was absolutely awful, and Donghae was staring at it like it was the most beautiful thing in the world. 

"Look, Hyukkie! It's perfect!" 

"Donghae… its… uh... " Hyukjae couldn't say it out loud. 

"It's perfect," Donghae's eyes were sparkling. 

Fuck. 

"Let's get the man to chop it down." Donghae jumped up from his spot on the ground and threw himself at Hyukjae. Giggling, thanking him and then bouncing off down the row to find the guy with the ax. 

Hyukjae wasn't even halfway out of the row of trees when Donghae came barrelling back down with the worker trailing behind. He laughed internally at the look the man had on his face. It was a mix between exasperated and fond, which was pretty much Hyukjae's default around the elf now. He watched as Donghae pointed at the tree, the worker tried pretty hard to talk them out of getting it, but Donghae was adamant that this was the one. The two followed the man as he tossed it over a shoulder and carried it back to Hyuk's car, waiting until it was strapped down before heading out. 

On the way back to the apartment, he realized he did not have a tree stand and had to stop again. Accidentally, he stopped at a shopping mall that also had a huge toy store. Hyukjae made it around the car just on time to grab the back of Donghae's jacket. 

"But Hyukkie, look! They have stuff bears dress like Santa! I know the elves that worked on those! Do you know how hard it is to sew those little buttons on! I just want to look!" 

"You can, Hae after we get the stuff you wanted for the tree." Hyukjae reasoned as he dragged the elf away from the store, pouting all the way. 

The trip ended up taking all day.

Literally. 

All.

Day. 

They didn't leave the shopping mall until dinner time. Only because Hyukjae refused to listen to any more 'just one more aisle' or 'five more minutes.' Hyukjae realized he let Donghae talk him into too many things when he had to pile bags onto the elf's lap. 

How the fuck had his card didn't get declined? 

The ride home was quick, refusing to stop any more times, no matter how many times Donghae asked. They took trips up the elevator carrying all the shit, Hyukjae then brought the tree up. He placed it in the stand, Donghae left in the corner of the room. Surprisingly, it was easy to tighten the screws to hold the tree in place. 

Then somehow, Donghae convinced him that he should put a string of lights on the tree. Why he wasn't sure. Lights weren't going to make the thing any prettier. But he did. He then left the rest up to the Christmas expert, deciding he'd be more useful making something for them to eat. 

When he glanced up from stirring seasoning into a pot of boiling water, he paused, the entire living room suddenly looked like it belonged to someone else. 

There was a, still sad looking, but decorated tree, with the green string of white lights glittering against silver and a soft spattering of teal ornaments, round globes, and tiny snow animals and snowflakes. At the top of the leaning tree was a crooked silver star. His eyes trailed from the tree to the tree skirt; he learned that from the elf when arguing over if they needed one, Donghae won. He was glad; he causes the fluffy white disk around the tree was a nice touch. On the couch were a matching throw blanket, small stuff animals, and red and green pillows. The walls had white lights hanging from down, giving the room a magical glow. On one wall was what looked like a makeshift fireplace, with wood and fire cut out. Hanging on the 'fireplace' was a stocking with Hyukjae's name written in perfect calligraphy. 

When had he had time to do this? 

"Woah…" was all he could say, really what else could he say? He hadn't even realized that they had bought these things. He glanced up and, yup, the snowflakes Donghae had cut out were still hanging from the ceiling. 

A movement from the balcony drew his eye, and Hyukjae made his way across the living room. He slid open the door and paused when he spotted Donghae standing on the railing, one hand holding onto the balcony above him, and the other adjusting a string of lights, he somehow got to hook on concrete. 

"Oh, Hyukkie, I'm almost done, let me just…." Hyukjae watched in trepidation as the elf stood on his tippy toes, shoeless but not sockless, to reach a little closer to where he was trying to get the lights to stay. 

"Donghae, you really shouldn't be standing on that. You might fall…" Hyukjae took a small step closer, ready to reach out and grab him if he slips. 

"Hyukkie, I'm an elf. Magical being. I have great balance, stop worrying so much." With that, Donghae grinned, and in a rather graceful move that made Hyukjae unsure if he was looking at Donghae or another person, he jumped from the railing to land beside Hyukjae, grinning at him if that playful way that was starting to become too much for his heart. 

"Did you see the living room? Did you like it?" Donghae was still grinning at him. Fuck. 

"It's magical, Donghae." 

"Really?" Donghae questioned. 

"Yeah, Santa would be proud." 

"Really?" His eyes were all sparkly, and a faint tinge of red was on his cheeks.

"Yup, now, I'm gonna finish cooking. Did you want omurice again or to try something else?" 

The call of 'noodles please' was heard through the apartment as he made his way back to the kitchen. Hyykjae paused by the 'fireplace,' Donghae only made him one. Didn't they buy two? He dug through the bags until he came across the other one. Hyukjae then dug around for that glittery pen that the elf wouldn't put down at the store. Once he found it, he quickly, and quite messily wrote Donghae's name on the stocking before hanging it next to his. Better. 

The gleeful noise that came out of Donghae when he came back inside was something Hyukjae would remember for a long time. He was glad that he had made the choice to hang one up for the elf. 

Hyukjae made plain noodles for Donghae and spiced up ramen for himself for dinner, and they spent the rest of the night watching Christmas movies. Or Donghae spent the night watching movies, and Hyukjae spent it watching Donghae's face show his every emotion. 

After two weeks of dealing with an overgrown child in his apartment, Hyukjae decided it was time to get him the fuck out of the house. He took the man-child to a different mall and bought the elf a plain vanilla ice cream cone. 

"What about her?" A hand flew into Hyukjae's face as the elf pointed out a slender woman walking down the street across from them. 

Hyukjae tilted his head, she was pretty with long hair and soft features, but Hyukjae shook his head. He wasn't into women, and how the hell are you supposed to explain that to someone who thought that strawberries were gross. What was wrong with him? 

A hand flew into his face again, this time with a lollipop clutched in his fist. "What about that one?" 

"No, Donghae. I'm done, let's go home, and where did you get that lollipop?" Hyukjae stood up and moved to the trashcan to toss his garbage away. The elf following him across the hall. 

"What kind of girl do you like? We need to figure out who to invite!" Donghae shouted the last bit as he skipped along beside him. Hyukjae frowned as he quickened his pace. 

"Oh, jingle bells, we only have one more week to get you a date!" 

"Donghae, please, stop reminding me." The last two have been exhausting. His sleeve was grabbed as the elf pulled him to a stop in the middle of the mall entrance. 

"No, Hyukjae. I'm not going to stop reminding you. Santa trusted me with this, and I don't want to let Santa down," Donghae said with one of the saddest pouts that Hyukjae has ever seen. It hurt to see the usually happy elf so sad. Hyukjae threw an arm over Donghae's broader shoulders and pulled him along with him. 

"You're not letting Santa down. Okay? It's just that, I'm not…" Hyukjae paused as they made their way across the parking lot, not exactly sure how to into words what he was feeling. 

"You're not what, Hyukjae?" Donghae questioned from under his damn elf hat, looking a thousand percent innocent and adorable. 

"Donghae, you know how I've been turning down all the woman you've pointed out the last few weeks?" Hyukjae questioned gently, still completely unsure how to come out again. He never thought that when he came out to his parents all those years ago, he'd have to do it again to a dang elf. 

"Yeah? Its rather annoying, but the way. There have been so many pretty women? What's wrong with you?" 

What's wrong with him was right. It was the same thing many old friends said to him. It never bothered him before, but why did it hurt so much when Donghae said it? 

"Donghae, I don't like women." Hyukjae blurted as he came to his car, he hit the unlock button and glanced over his shoulder and the elves frozen body standing a few feet away. 

"Hyukjae… son of a nutcracker! why didn't you tell me?!" Donghae pouted harder as he spoke.

The elf walking over to him gripped his arm and started shaking him as he spoke next. "We could have been looking for someone you could actually date this whole time!" Donghae was still shaking him. 

Hyukjae placed a hand on Donghae's grip on his sleeve. "Please stop shaking me, Donghae." 

The other pouted but stopped his movements, letting Hyukjae's arm go before 'tsking' at him as he moved to the other side of the car. He watched as Donghae opened the door and slid in; while muttering about how much they wasted looking for a woman when Hyukjae liked men. 

A weight felt like it was lifted from his shoulders. Now that Donghae would stop pestering him about women, he could relax a little. It was hard having to come up with excuses on why a certain woman wouldn't do. 

It was also getting hard to hide his growing feelings for the elf, already knowing that the other would eventually leave. So he hid everything. 

He should have known he hadn't been hiding anything at all.   
After work on Monday, his friends decided they finally needed to meet the person he was constantly talking to on the phone, so they barged in a while bringing dinner. The shock on their faces when they entered Hyukjae's apartment to see it decorated, was a little funny.

He had gotten used to the sight, but the others had not. Nor did they expect to find a male they didn't know sitting crossed legged next to Hyukjae on the living room floor. The two of them had been playing Go-Stop while soft instrumental, you guessed it, Christmas music played quietly. 

"Hey, guys, whatcha doing?" Hyukjae waved from his spot. All eyes still staring in awe at them. 

"Take a picture, it'll last longer…" he muttered, and he heard Donghae snicker as he placed a card on the ground beside the others. 

Then a light flashed, and he looked up to see Kyuhyun holding his phone up. Damn, he really took a picture. 

"Seriously, Kyu?" Hyukjae rolled his eyes as Donghae took a match up from the floor. 

"Oh, Hyukkie. Is this that Kyuhyun, Sungmin, and Leeteuk that you were telling me about before?" Donghae set his cards down and stood, bouncing his way over the stunned group. At least he got Donghae to start wearing normal clothes finally. Even if no one else thought white linen slacks and green turtle necks were normal. He had enough arguing over clothes and kind of just gave in on the color choice. 

"Eh, Tall one is Kyuhyun, bunny looking dude is Sungmin, the short one if Ryeowook, Kyuhyun's boyfriend, but he was totally my friend first. The one that better have some strawberry tarts in his hands in Shindong. I can't see who the person behind Shindong is, but it's probably Yesung, who will totally try to touch your face, don't let him. He's weird." He heard scoffing and snickering as he described his friends to the overly smiley elf. 

"Idiots, this is Donghae, he's a friend from Mokpo," the lie fell easily from his lips. He hadn't thought about how to explain the sudden appearance of someone he's never even talked about before. There were a lot of holes in his explanation, but hopefully, it will be glossed over for the fact that his apartment looked like a Christmas bomb went off. 

"Hi, Hyukjae's idiots!" Donghae said innocently, waving both hands in the air like a child. Hyukjae burst out laughing as he stood. 

"Who are you, and what have you done to Hyukjae?" Kyuhyun, the first of the group to come to his senses. Hyuk rolled his eyes and crossed the room to the group, still standing in the hall. They were all carrying bags, dinner? 

"I'm Donghae; I'm here to…" Hyukjae interrupted the other male with "Food?" So he couldn't say anything to set his friends off. Sungmin blinked a few more times before nodding his head at Hyukjae's question. 

"Then what are you doing in the hall? Come on," Hyukjae said as he grabbed the bag from Ryeowook and motioned for Donghae to follow him. 

He could feel eyes on him as he started opening the bags to pull put Chinese take out, going through them until he found something he knew Donghae would eat. When he came across plain noodles, he pushed it towards the elf. He found his usual sushi order, along with a beef and broccoli order he would usually split with Sungmin. He staked his and Donghae's food up and carried it over to the coffee table. While he sat, the elf walked over with two glasses, a bottle of soda, and utensils for the two of them. The two of them were eating on the floor in front of the TV instead of the table for the last three weeks.

He tried his hardest to ignore the staring until Donghae leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Hyukkie, why are they staring at me?" 

Hyuk glanced up to see five sets of eyes staring at them. "What?" 

"Seriously, Hyukjae. You're eating in the living room. Your house is decorated for Christmas. There is a person we never met sitting next to you, in your decorated apartment, eating noodles next to your couch. The couch you won't even let Yesung sit on. Did you get body-snatched or something?" Kyuhyun, the asshole friend he was, spoke from a chair at the table, a glass of wine already in his hand. Where had that come from? Did he bring a bottle of wine with him? Hyukjae didn't doubt it. 

"No, I didn't get body-snatched, you man-child," Hyukjae spoke as he shoved a mouthful of noodles into his mouth. 

"Why is it weird that his apartment is decorated? I did it…" The elf mumbled the last bit, looking utterly dejected. He glared at Kyuhyun, the usual culprit. 

"Wait. What? You decorated it? We've been trying to get him to decorate for Christmas for years..." Yesung finally spoke up. "He never lets us even try…" 

Donghae looked at him with questions in his eyes. Questions he didn't want to answer. Questions he tried to avoid around the other. It was all depressing, and he didn't want to make the elf sad. The pout the male had was pretty damn powerful. 

Hyukjae shook his head at Donghae, pushed his noodles closer to him to signal he needed to eat. The elf still frowned at him. How the hell could he change the subject without being completely obvious? 

"So Yesung, who are you taking to Kim's party?" He called out to the group at the table, who knew he didn't like it when people ate in his living room, but somehow he couldn't tell Donghae no. 

The conversation turned quickly towards Yesung dating habits, then to how amazing Kim Heechul's house was, to how amazing his parties are. Halfway through the conversation, Donghae stopped paying attention and leaned towards him, whispering in his ear. "We still haven't found you a date for that party; it's next week... isn't it?" Hyukjae nodded, trying hard not to look directly at anyone. 

When the conversation circled back to Hyukjae and the party, Ryeowook, as who he was going with, Hyukjae, of course, mumbled a noncommittal answer with a shoulder shrug. From beside him, he could almost feel Donghae frown.   
The rest of dinner went easy; the conversation turned back to silly things like Wook's salon or Shindong's shop. Then Donghae started to relax, and be his usual happy self. He was charming the fucking pants off his friends. His enthusiasm for Christmas was not spared on them. Once they asked about the tree, it was like a switch in Donghae. The elf told his friends how they went out to get it, how Hyukjae let him pick the tree. It was rather embarrassing listening to someone else talk about how you gave in to their every whim.

Which is precisely what happened.

By the time Donghae finished telling them about their different shopping adventures, the afternoon watching movies while drinking cocoa, all of the things Hyukjae has now bought him and how Hyukjae let him decorate. To say that his friends were shocked, even more, they were even more shocked than when they spotted the other male in his apartment. 

Hyukjae rushed them out after that. No need to see their faces or their opinions. Donghae helped him clean up, then Hyukjae went to shower, and crawled in bed. 

A few nights later, he was lying in bed, unable to sleep when his mind decided to remind him about the party. 

What the hell was he going to do about the party? 

Hyukjae's been putting off thinking about the party for a week or so now. He threw the cover over his head and sighed. 

The party was in three day

Three damn days. 

Hyuk had a huge problem. He didn't want to date just anyone.

He wanted to date Donghae.

His damn smile was contagious. He made Hyuk laugh about the stupidest things; he was innocent and so damn brilliant. He never made Hyuk feel silly when he didn't understand something. He was patient and… dammit all to hell, Hyukjae had a crush on his. Thirty years old with a damn schoolboy crush on a fucking magical being. 

The sound of rapping at his door startled him. 

"Hyukkie? Are you still awake?" Donghae's soft voice called out. Said male rolled over, calling out 'yeah, come in,' as he did. The elf padded in wearing the red silk pajamas he had loaned him weeks ago. Without asking, Donghae crawled into the bed beside Hyukjae. The two of them laying on their backs, staring at the ceiling. 

"I think I found a date for you for the party," Donghae spoke in a stunted, almost shy way, which was so unlike the other that he glanced over at him. Donghae was worrying his bottom lip between his just slightly crooked teeth. The fact that he realized Donghae's teeth were only slightly crooked was a sure sign he was paying too much attention to his mouth. 

"Yeah? Who?" 

"Me." 

If Hyukjae had been drinking anything, he would have spit it all over the other. How in the world could Donghae say something so easy? 

"No? I thought it would be a good plan. You don't want any of the men or women I've pointed out. I want to make Santa proud by..." 

"Okay."

"... making your wish come true.... what did you say?" 

"I said, okay." 

"Really?" Donghae questioned as he sat up to look down at Hyukjae, astonishment in his eyes. 

"Yeah.." his answer slower then he wanted it to be. 

"Goodness gumdrops. That was way easier than I'd thought it'd be." Donghae said as he flopped back down beside Hyukjae.

The male frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" 

Donghae huffed a laugh, "I'd thought I'd have to convince you. You're not as crabby as your friends say you are." 

Hyukjae grabbed his pillow and smacked Donghae with it, causing him to laugh as he held onto it, thus getting Hyukjae's pillow. He huffed and closed his eyes. 

"They are all idiots, don't listen to them. I'm going to sleep," he mumbled as he grabbed a second pillow and rolled over onto his side, back facing Donghae. It would be the first time Donghae laid in his bed. But it was the first time Hyukjae didn't kick him out before going to bed. He thought he heard the elf mumble something that sounded like 'night Hyukkie' before he passed out, but he wasn't sure.

When he woke the next morning, Donghae was already up and singing — having gotten used to the singing every morning that he doesn't even grumble about the noise anymore. Hyuk just waves a hand, showers, then makes them breakfast then leaves for work. 

Around mid-morning, he messaged Donghae, the address for the suit place and tailors, telling him to buy a nice one. He would need it for the party. 

At lunch, Kyuhyun spent it staring at him. 

"Are you fucking Donghae?" 

The noise that left him was not manly. Nor the amount of strawberry milk now all over the taller's face. The younger grimacing as he wiped his face off. 

"I'm not screwing him! That's… " he huffed. He couldn't explain the entire situation to Kyuhyun. Fucking elves. 

"If you're not screwing him, why are you buying all this stuff for him? Decorating your house. You hate Christmas, Hyukjae. We don't understand." When Kyuhyun said we, he usually meant him and Wookie. Which meant Ryeowook was worried, and Kyu was the messenger. 

"I don't hate Christmas…" He tried to defend, but there was no use. Kyuhyun knew him better than that. Hyukjae had never been a huge fan of the whole Christmas thing. Buying presents, decorations, spending money on things that weren't really needed. It was a useless holiday that didn't really have any meaning. 

That was all before Donghae appeared like fucking magic, which it was, and turned it all around. Donghae was making the holiday about spending time with someone you cared about. Doing mundane things with Donghae was so much more… more, now. 

He didn't know how the fuck to explain it. 

So he just pushed it down and ignored it. 

The night of the party, Hyukjae was nervous as hell. He showed, dressed in his pressed suit, and had to agree with Leeteuk finally; fitted suits looked much better. His was a sleek black with a crimson bow tie, silver cufflinks, and stabbed a silver stud in his one ear hole; he even shined his dress shoes and gelled his naturally crazy hair into a semblance of a slicked-back style. 

He frowned at the mirror. 

What the fuck, I'm fucking Draco Malfoy.

Hyukjae ran his hands through his hair and left it in a messy wave that would have to do.

Hyukjae was a little worried about what Donghae was going to wear to the party — almost expecting the other to be wearing something truly good awful. Like a suit with little Santas all over them. Which he could totally see the other doing. When he stepped out of his bedroom to see Donghae wearing a white suit with black trim along the collar, black square in the breast pocket, with a slim crimson tie, his usual mop of hair was laying in a neat swoop, a few strands hanging down. 

Hyukjae froze. 

He looked so damn good. And human, 

And fucking sexy. 

Goddammit Santa, you're killing him.

"I wasn't sure what 'black tie' meant, and Ryeowook helped me shop. How do I look?" Donghae fiddled with his suit jacket sleeves, nervous energy emitting from him. Hyukjae blinked a few times, burning the image of the other in a suit that must have been tailored because it fit Donghae like a glove. 

"Perfect… uh... I mean… you look really good. Are you ready?" Hyukjae quickly turned away from the brilliant smile spreading across the elf's face and made his way to the entrance to fetch his phone, wallet, and keys. Anything to avoid looking directly at Donghae.   
  
"Nope, I already got everything I need." He heard being called out from behind him. 

They made their way down to his car without Hyukjae tripping over his own feet. Onew did whistle at them as they crossed the reception area. Donghae beamed at the other, walking happily behind Hyukjae as they made their way to the car. 

On the drive to Kim's fucking homestead, Hyukjae handed his date his phone to look through his pictures while he explain who everyone one. When Donghae went past his screenshots and found a picture of himself eating a vanilla ice cream cone, he questioned Hyukjae about it. Hyuk tried to play it off as he had just taken it on accident, but Donghae just smiled at him. Fuck. That goddamn smile. 

Kim's property extended for a half-mile down a long driveway. He could see lights from the house to the gate, damn, he was decked out for Christmas. Lights covering bushes and trees, it was gorgeous. He glanced over at Donghae to gauge his reaction and wasn't disappointed. The elf was staring wide eyes, mouth agape, pure awe in his eyes. When they arrived at the end of the driveway, they made their way through the valet and security with no problems.

Donghae's eyes still sparkling as they made their way down the long entranceway, past mingling guests. People were taking pictures by lit fountains and giant presents. The twinkle in Donghae's eyes as he grabbed Hyukjae's wrist and pulled him towards, no fucking way. Hyukjae was snickering before his thoughts could keep up with him. It was a long table with note cards and a Santa letterbox. He, of course, had to point out to Donghae that this was not the box he sent his letter in. The elf pouted at that but pulled him along to look at all of the decorations that were set up. 

Once they made it into the mansion, Hyukjae made his rounds; greeting people and taking smiling his way through the crowd. At one point, Donghae stepped closer to him and placed a hand in the crook of his elbow, then stared funnily at a male on Hyukjae's other side that he had been chatting with. It was odd. 

Donghae was acting odd. 

Around dinner time, he introduced Donghae to Leeteuk and the rest of the alphabet soup of Kim Corp. He didn't like the looks everyone kept giving him when he introduced him as a friend. Nor did he like the suddenly dejected look Donghae was sporting as he sat beside him. 

After a few hours mingling at the Kim mansion, eating tons of food, and making fun of everyone, Donghae turned to him with a small smile. "I'm glad." 

"Why's that, Hae?" Hyukjae questioned as he shoved a tiny vegetable ball into his mouth, mm.. mushrooms...so damn good. 

"Cause I accomplished my mission! You had a date to the Christmas party, and I'm happy that I got to come with you. Also, oh goodness gumdrops, am I happy I got to meet you and Ididn'tembarrassyou…" The last being rushed out as Donghae tried to speed away. 

Hyukjae grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back over, realizing they were standing near one of the many overly decorated trees, and they were almost secluded. 

"Wait a minute, Hae. What do you mean embarrass me?" 

Donghae turned his face away and down, not letting Hyukjae see his face. 

"Donghae, what do you mean? You weren't worried about that, were you? Because most of them think I'm a Christmas hating asshole, so really. Who cares what they think." Hyukjae pulled Donghae around, so he was facing him, a sigh leaving him when he saw tears building in his eyes. 

"You don't hate Christmas, Hyukkie.." Donghae started, but Hyukjae shook his head. 

"No, Donghae. I know you think I'm nice and all. But really, I'm not. I'm kind of boring, and maybe a bit of an asshole. But they were right I never liked Christmas. Not since I was a child. It's all too much for me. Too many people wanting too many material things," he paused as a couple walked by, Donghae turned them and took a step back, closer to a wall. Secluding them even more. 

"I know you're an elf, Donghae. You are virtually the embodiment of all the things that are good about this holiday. Yes, we bought tons of shit, sorry, things. But they were only means to get me to understand. Right?" 

When Donghae nodded as he rubbed a hand under his eye, Hyukjae batted his hand away to wipe it himself. 

"I'm happy it was you Santa sent to make my wish come true. I'm happy I got to know you too. Hae." 

Donghae threw his arms around Hyukjae's middle and hugged him tight. Hyukjae wrapped his arms around the other. They stayed like that for a few minutes until he pulled away and patted Hae on the head before the other looked up into his eyes. 

There was no need for words; they both knew this was goodbye. Hyukjae stood still as Donghae turned to walk away, pausing briefly before he turned a corner. The sadness in Donghae's was something he never wanted to see again. 

A thump in his chest, a feeling he didn't recognize or know how to articulate. He rubbed his chest, trying it get the feeling to stop. He didn't like the pain. 

Hyukjae sighed deeply.

"That sounds like a soul-deep sigh, what's wrong, Hyukkie?" A voice said from beside him.

A person that had not been there two seconds ago. Hyukjae looked up from his overcrowded plate of strawberry-flavored treats. When had he sat down? 

His eyes took in the sight of the Kim Corp CEO in all his bedazzled tracksuit glory. Hyukjae had no idea the black-tie event meant that the CEO would wear his usual outfit… just covered in glitz and gems. Almost every inch of the older males black tracksuit was covered in tiny Swarovski Crystals.

Hyukjae had no idea how Heechul's husband put up with his craziness. 

"Oh, Heechul-ssi, nothing wrong just thinking about things," Hyukjae's answer did not please the CEO because he frowned and asked at him. Heechul didn't like frowning, Hyukjae knew that much. So he should have expected the male to sit down beside him, but it still came as a surprise when the chair beside him was pulled out, and the million won suit plopped down beside him. 

"I know Leeteuk told you to stop calling him with honorifics, the same has always gone for me, Hyukjae, call me hyung. We've known each other too long to still be on that," Heechul spoke while he grabbed Hyukjae's plate and pulled it closer to himself. Forging around the plate for one of his chocolate-covered strawberries. 

"What's wrong with this company that you all forgo honorifics all the time?" Hyukjae blurted. Heechul glared at him with a rather majestic stink eye. 

"We only do that to people we like, you're important to us, you little shithead," Heechul said around a mouthful of chocolate and strawberries. "Why the hell did you think Leeteuk made you his plus one? We wanted you to spend Christmas with us instead of by yourself like you did last year."

Hyukjae's head whipped around to look at Heechul, seriously? Had they tricked him into spending Christmas with them? Why hadn't they just asked him? "Why go through making me sound a date and everything?"

"As I said, we didn't want you to be alone this year." Heechul grabbed a pink macaroon from his plate and bit into it. Mumbling about how 'damn good' they were. 

"You both are just ridiculous. I wasn't lonely. I was fine. I'm fine." Even to his ears, he didn't sound convinced. 

"We both know that's not true. At least not anymore. We both know that too. So, where's your other half?" Heechul was not one too subtle about anything. Hyukjae sighed as he took a pink cookie from his plate that Heechul was still eating through. How in the hell did Heechul know so much when he seemed to not care about anything. He wasn't sure. 

"I don't have an 'other half,' Heechul hyung," Hyukjae said as he shoved the entire cookie in his mouth. 

Heechul smacked him on the back of the head, scoffing at him. "You're an idiot, Hyukjae. Let me tell you a story… " 

Hyukjae pulled a face and received another smack to the back of his head. He pouted as Heechul continued to speak. 

"Listen to my story, you ungrateful little brat. Back in college, before I took over the company for my father. I slept around a lot… like.. damn, I'm surprised my dick didn't shrivel up. Stop making that face at me. That was until I met someone who didn't fall for my usual tricks; he just wanted to be friends. Which was damn annoying, just friends? With me? Have you seen me? Anywho, I didn't know it at the ti; hehe was trying to get me to realize that I could be loved for more than just my body. Now, I'm married to him." Heechul finished with a flourishing hand flap. 

"Okay? What does that have to do with anything?" Hyukjae questioned, completely confused by the conversation taking place. 

"Damn, your dense. He was trying to get me to fall in love with him. You're in love with Donghae. You're moping because he's not here. Go fix whatever you fucked up between the two of you."

It wasn't as easy to fix what happened between Donghae and him. The male was a Christmas elf. Santa's magic had called Donghae back. His Christmas wish was for a date to the party, Donghae had fulfilled the request and had to go back to the North Pole. Like the excellent elf, he was. 

"It's not that easy, Heechul-hyung." He said as Heechul glanced over his shoulder, and a beautiful smile spread over his lips. A smile that Hyukjae knew was reserved for only one person. The tall Chinese male placed a hand on Heechul's shoulder before leaning down to place a soft kiss to Heechul's lips. He turned away when they started to whisper sweet words to each other. When these two got together, they tend to forget they are the people in the room.

It only reminded him that he was lonely again.

The last few weeks of having Donghae around, thoughts of waking up tomorrow and not hearing joyous Christmas music being sung at the top of Donghae's lungs. Or the smell of hot chocolate and cookies that have pretty much seeped into his couch.

It sucked. 

His house had been quiet and solitary. But Donghae had brought warmth and noise into his life. He didn't want to go back to the quiet of before. It was why he was still sulking around Heechul's mansion instead of going back to his empty apartment. 

He may be in love with the other male, but he has no idea how Donghae felt or what difference it made.

A hand on his shoulder pulled him back from his depressing thoughts. "Go home, Hyukjae. It's almost Christmas morning. Go surprise your other half with a love confession or something." Heechul patted him on the shoulder and waved goodbye. Hyukjae said his goodbyes to Hangeng and the few lingering coworkers. Ha. Love confession, it wasn't like he would ever see the elf again to say anything to him at all. 

On his way out if Heechul's mansion, he spotted that stupid Santa mailbox he had made fun of when he walked in with Donghae. He moved before he could think about it, he grabbed one of the papers and quickly wrote a new letter to Santa, tucked it into a pink envelope, and slide it into the mailbox.

Even if nothing happened, he could say at least he tried. 

Hyukjae left Heechul's mansion with a heavy heart, the drive as silent as ever. The radio was turned off; he wasn't sure if he could bear listening to Christmas music right now. 

He entered his empty apartment and sighed. Not exactly sure what he should have been expecting. It was Christmas eve after all. Why would Santa want to deal with him when he had millions of children to please. Hyukjae slid off his dress shoes, stacking them neatly next to the haphazardly placed sneakers he bought Donghae and entered the house on socked feet. His eyes were taking in all the changes that had happened to his small space in so little time. 

On the coat rack was the thick pink jacket and white sweater set that Donghae had fallen in love with and continuously wore when they left the apartment. Then there was the pile of stuffed animals on the couch beside red and green throw pillows; little Christmas themed charms and knickknacks on the once empty shelves, the sad small Christmas tree in the corner that Hyukjae never watered but was somehow still alive.

Hyukjae didn't want to think about Donghae any more. Didn't want didn't dwell on something he couldn't change. 

He wanted to sleep. 

He did just that, threw himself down on the couch in his too expensive suit, wrapped himself in the white throw blanket that Donghae never put away, and willed himself to stop thinking and sleep. He ended up lying there, staring at the tree as the night went on. 

Hyukjae must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew, sunlight was streaming through the porch blinds. He blinked his eyes as he woke up. It was way too early for life to start. So he closed his eyes again and pulled the blanket tighter around himself. He was freezing, when did his apartment get so damn cold in the mornings? His thoughts fleeting, a heartbeat, then two passing before he was flinging the blanket off, almost throwing himself off the couch to look around. 

The last time his apartment had been freezing like this, an elf appeared in his house, and his life changed forever. 

Sitting cross-legged by the Christmas tree was his very own elf. In his hand was the envelope he sent the night before.

"Hey Hyukkie, you're never going to believe the letter Santa got last night," Donghae said softly. 

Tears filled Hyukjae's eyes as he unsteadily stood. 

"I love you too, Lee Hyukjae."

Hyukjae made it across the room in three long strides, tackling the other in a hug. Hitting the ground must have hurt, but Donghae ignored it as he wrapped Hyukjae up in his arms. He was crying fat tears and getting them all over the elf's sweater, the fucking pink one, but neither cared as he held onto Donghae. 

"You're back; you're back." He was mumbling as he held tighter onto the other. 

"I'm back, Hyukkie." 

Hyukjae brought their lips together in a firm press, pouring his heart and soul into the kiss. 

Christmas wishes do come true. 

\- - - - - - - - - - - - 

Hyukjae first letter to Santa: 

" Dear Santa, 

Christmas the past few years has been a little lonely. I'm not sure why I still write to you. I'm almost thirty. This is stupid. 

Anyways, over the years, I've known I write a letter asking for material things. Do you remember when I asked for a strawberry jello filled bathtub? I think I was seven. Just ridiculous. 

I still have all the letters I've written. I'm not even sure why I've kept those either. 

Like I said before, I've always written and asked for many things. This year isn't really different. My boss, the CEO, is having a party at his house again this year. I have to go because Leeteuk-hyung is kind of making me. It's basically a meet and greet of high powered people that could help the company grow, but are also Heechul's friends. 

I need to make a good impression, so my Christmas wish this year is to please help me find a date for this Christmas party. 

~ Lee Hyukjae "

\- - - - - - - - - - - - 

Hyukjae's second letter to Santa. 

"Hey, Big Man,

I know I'm asking for a lot this year, first for a date and now this, but I'm not sure what to do without him. He's changed my entire life in less than a month. He's brought color and excitement into my mundane life. I never really needed help finding a date for the party. I just wanted someone to spend time with me. To get to know the real me and love me as I am. I think… I think Donghae does.

You know that American song 'All I want for Christmas is you?' Well, all I want is Donghae. I understand that he may be needed in the North Pole, but I'm begging. 

No. Pleading with you. 

Please send him back… 

My new Christmas wish is for you to send Donghae home to me.

Please?

I love him.

-Lee Hyukjae "

\- - - - - - - - - - - - 

I know this is a day late, but I fell asleep last night before I could post it. I'm sorry! 

I spellcheck a lot and downloaded a grammar keyboard for my phone, but I'm not sure if it caught everything.

Let me know!

**Author's Note:**

> I know this is a day late, but I feel asleep last night before I could post it. I'm sorry! 
> 
> I spellcheck a lot, and downloaded a grammar keyboard for my phone, but I'm not sure if it caught everything.
> 
> let me know!


End file.
